Here are some tips and tricks for troubleshooting and fixing laptop video problems. Video issues are very common within portable computers and with the following tips you should be able to detect and eliminate basic laptop video problems.
Laptop LCD screen has a faint image.
Look at the LCD screen very closely and check if you can see a faint image on the screen. It’s possible that the LCD lid close switch stuck in the “closed” position and the backlight stays off even when you open the LCD screen or turn on the laptop. The switch turns off the backlight when you close the LCD display to save the laptop battery power. Check the LCD lid close switch. Usually it is a small plastic pin located close to the LCD hinges. Try to tap on the switch a few times to turn on the backlight. If after tapping on the LCD lid close switch the backlight stays on, you fixed the problem.
It is also possible that after tapping on the LCD lid close switch the backlight works fine, you see a normal video on the screen for some time and then the backlight turns itself off again. In this case I would blame the FL inverter board. Try to reseat cables on both end of the FL inverter to make a better contact between the cables and the FL inverter board. If it doesn’t help I would try to replace the FL inverter board.
Laptop LCD screen is solid white color.
Most likely it is just a bad connection between the LCD display and the system board. I would try reseating the video cable connector on the back of the LCD screen first and check if it fixes the problem. After that I would try reseating the video cable connector on the system board. I would also try reseating cables if there is no video on the LCD screen at all.
The video on the LCD screen is garbled.
Try to connect the LCD screen to an external monitor. If the external video is fine, you have a problem with the LCD screen or the LCD video cable. You can try to fix the problem by reseating the video cable on the back of the LCD and on the system board.
If you see the same garbled video output on the external monitor most likely it is not the LCD screen problem. In this case the system board (with onboard video) is bad or the video card is bad.
I understand that these tips will not cover all video problems with portable computers. If you have a different problem, you are welcome to leave a comment and I will try to help you if I can. 
Are you looking for a new LCD screen for you laptop? Try searching here.
Here’s a notebook display assembly diagram and tips for finding spare notebook parts.
Related articles:
Fixing notebook LCD screen with water damage.
Screen inverter replacement. Fixing laptop backlight problem
Laptop has bad video on the LCD screen. What is wrong?
Laptop screen shows strange colors. What could be wrong?
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April 24th, 2006 at 10:12 pm
Derek,
Here is the best close up picture for Toshiba Satellite P25 FL inverter board I have for this moment.
You should be very happy that your laptop still works. Liquid spills are very unpredictable. Any part could be damaged even if it wasn’t affected by the liquid directly. Yes it is possible that only the FL inverter has been damaged, but it also possible that some circuits on the system board have been damaged too.
April 24th, 2006 at 9:58 pm
Ivelina,
I think the next step would be reloading the Windows operating system. It is just a guess – may be the power management software is corrupted somehow. By the description you provided, it shouldn’t be the fl inverter board problem, even though everything is possible. Some problems are very weird! I have a laptop that I haven’t been able to fix for over 30 days! Replaced almost every single part twice and it’s still doing the same! Just a nightmare. 
Not sure what is going on with your computer.
April 24th, 2006 at 9:36 pm
Frank,
I think either the LCD screen itself or the video cable is bad. Not sure, I have never seen a problem like yours. Try to reflash or upgrade the BIOS just in case, it might help.
April 23rd, 2006 at 12:55 pm
Hi there,
Just wondering if you could help. I have an Acer Aspire 1360 which I’ve had for just over a year.
When I put pressure on a certain point of the laptop underneath about an inch or two above the battery just below the arrow keys it swithches itself off immediately. As though the power supply has been disconnected.
Do you have any suggestions?
Thanks for the help you may be able to offer.
Charlie
April 23rd, 2006 at 12:54 pm
Hey CJ2600 –
I’ve got a Toshiba Satellite P25-S607, and I recently spilled water…ok, boubon and soda, on it.
I immediately shut the power down, took it apart, dried it thoroughly with a hair dryer (not too close) and came back a couple days later to fire it up.
First I should say that after I shut the power down, after the spill, I turned the in an upside down V on the table to help it drain.
Thankfully, the computer runs fine, but the display is dim. External monitor works fine. Lid close switch does nothing…no flickering. Is it possible when the machine was upside down, liquid shorted the FL inverter? Or could I have shorted something on the system board? But, the external monitor works fine. Could it be a power issue to the inverter? I poked around with a voltage meter on the board and was able to get some signal…(not an expert, just poking around) Could you post a close up picture of the inverter, I have what looks like some black goo coming out of a white circular piece on the board, and I’m not sure if its just some kind of insulation on the board, or if something is fried.
Thanks! Great resource!
April 23rd, 2006 at 12:38 pm
Hello – me again.
Reflashed the BIOS (was latest version anyway) with no luck in solving the problem. I used the Windows-based flash – is that the same as a floppy-disk based or would the latter be worth trying as well?
Does not seem to matter if it enters stand-by from Windows or just by closing the lid – same thing happens. The only thing that keeps the backlight working is to leave all computer on, just close the lid to switch off the screen while not using it.
Any other ideas? I am willing to try anything!
I think there should be a clue (to who can read it!) in that the backlight comes on during the first few moments of resume/boot – it only goes off a few seconds into it (but always at different stages).
April 22nd, 2006 at 3:59 pm
Mine sister gave me a satellite 4030cdt laptop. It has a split screen on it problem. The Toshiba is on the buttom when starting up. But when I place mine home monitor on it and the screen is fine. I check all the connections. Any Ideas? Thanks.
April 22nd, 2006 at 2:16 pm
Ivelina,
You are right; it looks like the problem is connected to entering into standby or hibernation mode. I think it is not a problem with the FL inverter board.
I would definitely try to upgrade the BIOS. It is very possible that new BIOS can fix the problem. Carefully read instructions before attempt to upgrade the BIOS.
April 22nd, 2006 at 1:00 pm
Hi cj2600 and thanks for the reply.
I always put the laptop into hybernation/standby by closing the display. When I changed the power settings to “Do nothing” when the lid is closed, the problem did not happen when I reopened the lid (or when I pressed the lid switch for a few moments) so it will have something to do with the computer entering standby/hybernation. I will try using the windows standby next time and i will also try to disable the laptop going into stand by after a period of time (it is currently 30 minutes if not in use) to see what happens.
Please let me know if you still think upgrading the BIOS will help as it does not seem to be a Windows problem.
Many thanks!
April 22nd, 2006 at 9:47 am
Hi Ivelina,
The problem with backlight might be hardware or software related. How do you put your laptop into hibernation or standby? Do you close the display or you enter these modes through the Windows? If the laptop backlight fails to resume after you close the display, then it might be a lid close switch related problem. Try to tap on it a few times after the backlight fails to start. If the laptop backlight fails to resume after you enter hibernation or standby modes through Windows, then the problem might be related to a bug in the BIOS. Some Toshiba laptops have the same issue and you can fix it by upgrading BIOS. Try to upgrade or re-flash the BIOS.